Kigali, 15 October 2012
President Kagame today received sixteen members of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) including members from Australia, Scotland, US, South Africa, India, Israel, Czech Republic and Rwanda. In Kigali to attend the yearly meeting of the Rwanda Action Forum, the group updated President on the progress of their various initiatives in the agriculture and business sector.
President Kagame welcomed the YPO members and thanked them for the work they have undertaken in Rwanda. “We are reaching the milestones we have set for ourselves. I want to sincerely thank you for putting your resources in these invaluable efforts,” President Kagame said.
Reflecting on the years since the YPO awarded President Kagame the Global Leadership award, President Kagame added: “the past ten years have crystallized into a journey that has had many benefits for our country.”
The YPO team is in the country to find new initiatives they can introduce to the 18,000 strong memberships who may be interested in joining the Rwanda Action Forum and the Doing Business in Rwanda Network.
Following a growing interest in the Rwanda Action Forum among Global YPO Members, the group has now initiated a new group called the “YPO Doing Business in Rwanda” Network. This has allowed members to also consider a serious look at the business opportunities in the country.
Speaking after the meeting, Dennis Overton, Founder and Chairman of Aquascot Ltd. and member of WPO Scotland said:
“We are marking the 5th anniversary of the Rwanda Action Forum within the global YPO. Rwanda Action Forum is interested in economic development in Rwanda and we exist to connect members from our 20,000 members from around the world with opportunities here so they can either partner with Rwandans here or start individual businesses. Today, we are announcing the next development in the life of the forum, which is the launch of Doing Business in Rwanda Network which puts greater emphasis on Foreign Direct Investment.”